“Careem and Uber are joining forces. We have reached an agreement in which Uber will acquire Careem for $3.1 billion,” said a joint statement.

According to a press release from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the company "intends to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha."

We're proud to announce we’ve agreed to acquire @Careem, one of the Middle East’s most successful startups. We’re excited to partner with @Careem to better serve the region and maintain a tailored local experience for mobility, delivery and payments. More: https://t.co/aXWaEvN6jj

Talking about the decision to let Careem operate as an independent brand and operate separately, Khosrowshahi said: "After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each.

He added: "Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region."

The press release further announced that the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which is not expected to be acquired until 2020.

It further explained that since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, "very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close."

The deal will see Uber pay $1.4 billion in cash and the rest in notes convertible to Uber shares.